Working from Peet’s Tea and Coffee on a cold, wet day. The good part is I can take a quick break from work every so often and do a sketch. On the flip side, I don’t move to a new seat ( too much stuff to move around: my sketch stuff, my laptop, and most of all, not all seats in the cafe have a coveted power point within easy reach…so I stay put.)

These three sketches are from pretty much the same spot. Capturing a space filled with people means thinking in layers : people and objects in the foreground partially block those behind them. I keep building in layers of what I see in a scene- all the way to the horizon. Or, in this case, until I hit a wall.

Melissa, when I have a single focus like this, yes ( and that single focus object is in the foreground, of course). But I use the same principle when working with other compositions where the focus isn’t the foreground. I find that if I draw out and around form my focal point, my drawing tends to reinforce that..

This new approach :
I am also going to try out permanent and washable sketch pens.bleading of washable sketch pens will add a grey tone when we add watercolor…giving it a body. This style when,where to use this pen will have to be predetermined .
Thanks
Nandan

Nandan, I switch between the two, I like washable ink for more moody sketches, and waterpoof ink for brighter, crisper work. Do you know Marc Holmes work? he has a post on his blog where he experiments mixing both pens in a single sketch. Ito looks like a fun process, one that needs thinking through what you’re doing next as you go through the process. have fun!